Rachel Poliner - Teaching the Whole Teen: Everyday Practices That Promote Success and Resilience in School and Life

by Rachel Poliner and Jeffrey Benson

Teaching the Whole Teen is an insightful, hopeful, and very practical resource for teachers, parents and schools. The book stays rooted in the day-to-day practice of teaching the whole teen, and it articulates in very doable ways suggestions for how to better support teenagers in their development. Its accessible, inspiring, and a valuable read for all educators.

Jennifer Abrams, Educational Consultant
Author of Having Hard Conversations and The Multi-Generational Workplace

This rich treasure trove of inventive, concrete, and well-grounded ideas offers a gift to our profession and to all who would strengthen the quality of life and learning for young people and adults under the roof of the schoolhouse.

Roland S. Barth, Educator

An important contribution to the field of SEL [social-emotional learning] with a much-needed focus on teens in middle and high schoolsthis book highlights the importance of relationships to cognitive and social growth, explicitly teaching SEL skills, and the role of adults as models. Combining research and best practices from multiple disciplines, Poliner and Benson deliver accessible, hands-on tips and tools for educators and educational leaders. Through discussion of theory and helpful anecdotes from a wide range of school settings, this book provides an SEL guide that is culturally relevant for all teen and adult populations. Students and educators will benefit from the holistic approach and practical guidance presented in this book.

Nova Biro, Co-Director, Open Circle

As a former elementary school principal first in a K5 setting and then K8, this book would have been an excellent and valuable resource for understanding teenagers and middle school students. I found so many practical strategies that I could have used with the students in the K8 setting and shared with staff that had taught in a K5 setting and also had to transition.

Gustava Cooper-Baker, Principal
KCPS, UCM

I sincerely feel that new and veteran teachers will benefit from reading and discussing this book. Readers are guaranteed to reflect upon current practice and be introduced to countless teaching strategies that will improve the educational experience of their students.

David G. Daniels, High School Principal
Susquehanna Valley Senior High School

Hallelujah! Benson and Poliner have written a book that many educators have been searching forone that illuminates a pathway to develop important social and emotional skills that all adolescents need to master. There is much available in this domain that focuses on the needs of young children but fewer substantive resources for secondary educators (and parents!) interested in balancing academic accountability with vital skill development in self-efficacy, civic responsibility, and resiliency. These authors demonstrate a deep understanding of adolescent development and use that knowledge to illuminate pathways to strengthen important youth competencies. The authors frame their insights and practical strategies through a lens that is cognizant of the needs of the wide range of diverse learners that populate our modern-day middle and high schools. The book is also filled with thoughtfully crafted teaching lessons that can help educators infuse youth development into classroom work without compromising academic rigor. Additionally, there are pragmatic supports for principals who want to facilitate faculty discussions and parents who want to bring these lessons home. This book is rich with both insights and practical guidance for how we can help teens to become sharp thinkers and caring and contributing citizens.

John DAuria, President, Teachers21

Poliner and Benson empower our school communities to lay the foundations, practices, spaces, and rituals to educate the whole child. They walk us through the various lenses students bring with them each day to schoolthe social, emotional, physical, cognitive, etceteraand how those lenses interact with the cultures and practices in our communities. They provide us ways to foster the positive relationships that lead to students who are resilient and self-aware and ultimately better prepared to navigate the complexities before them. Understanding schools and their leaders, the authors offer practical and accessible tools that can really make a difference. This useful resource will quickly become a go-to guide for planning conversations, faculty meetings, parent education, and self-examining and rethinking our schools.

Roberto Derizans, Middle School Principal
GradedThe American School of So Paolo (Brazil)

Teaching the Whole Teen is a gem of a book, one that sparkles with brilliant insights, guidance, and invaluable practical resources to support everyday practices that promote success and resilience in school and life. Poliner and Benson tap into evidence-based research within the fields of education, psychology (adolescent development), and social neuroscience to compellingly present why and how caring whole school environments, anchored by relational trust, can most optimally cultivate adolescents positive learning and development in secondary schools. In paying attention to the vital importance of systematically supporting novice teachers development of social-emotional skills and stress resilience, the authors attend to practice that is too often de-prioritized in schools. As they rightly assert, how we support [novice teachers] to persevere and thrive will mirror our success, or failure, to do the same for whole teens. This book should be required reading for all involved in educator preparation and induction programs, including middle and high school leaders!